Obadiah 1
1 The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Sovereign LORD says about Edom— We have heard a message from the LORD : An envoy was sent to the nations to say, "Rise, and let us go against her for battle"-
2 "See, I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks [a] and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?'
4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," declares the LORD.
5 "If thieves came to you, if robbers in the night— Oh, what a disaster awaits you— would they not steal only as much as they wanted? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes?
6 But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged!
7 All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, [b] but you will not detect it.
8 "In that day," declares the LORD, "will I not destroy the wise men of Edom, men of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
9 Your warriors, O Teman, will be terrified, and everyone in Esau's mountains will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.
11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.
12 You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble.
13 You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.
15 "The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been.
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance.
18 The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau." The LORD has spoken.
19 People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau, and people from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan will possess the land as far as Zarephath; the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev.
21 Deliverers will go up on [c] Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the LORD's.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotional
Psalm 119:17-24
Gimel 17 Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word. 18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors
January 2, 2008
Lord, I’m Excited!
ODB RADIO: Listen Now Download
READ: Psalm 119:17-24
Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. —Psalm 119:18 About this cover People use Our Daily Bread in many different ways. Small groups have informed me that they meet before work to read the online devotional on their laptops. Families read it together at a meal. Others reach for it on a break or during a quiet moment of the day.
A letter from one reader inspired me with her approach each morning: “As I open Our Daily Bread, I tell God that I am excited about what His Word is going to teach me. Then I read the Scripture (if it’s short, I include all the surrounding context), and I meditate [on it] and write what it is saying to me before I read what God gave the writer . . . . Since I am indexing my journal, both Scripture and topics, as I go along, I can refer back to pertinent topics at any time. I love it.”
What impressed me is her enthusiasm for the Word and the anticipation of what the Lord has for her in the Bible. She echoes the psalmist’s prayer, “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” (Ps. 119:18).
A writer’s thoughts are no substitute for the powerful Word of God. It’s the only place to find spiritual nourishment and strength for each day. And that’s exciting! —David C. McCasland
Give me, O Lord, a strong desireTo look within Your Word each day;Help me to hide it in my heart,Lest from its truth my feet would stray. —Branon
The Bible is the Bread of Life, and it never becomes stale.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 2, 2008
Will You Go Out Without Knowing?LISTEN: READ:
He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8 About this cover Have you ever "gone out" in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, "What do you expect to do?" You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to "go out" in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to "go out," building your confidence in God. ". . . do not worry about your life . . . nor about the body . . ." (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did "go out."
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you "go out" in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?
Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to "go out" in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to "go out" through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
What Your Child May be Missing - #5473 Wednesday, January 02, 2008
It's not much fun to perform without an audience. Toddlers believe that for sure. Our family was having one of those rare opportunities to have all of us together, and we were having some great conversations, keeping one eye on our little two-year-old granddaughter. And one eye wasn't enough for her. Using her recently enhanced motor skills, she started running wide circles right in the middle of the room. After her first two spins—which did manage to get our attention—she called out two little words I didn't even know she knew, "Watch this!" We did.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "What Your Child May be Missing."
Our granddaughter wanted our attention and our approval—maybe even a little applause. She got all three. She's not unusual. All children, no matter how old they are, need to know that their mom or dad loves them and is proud of them. It's that triple-A combination: our attention, our approval, our applause. Sadly, far too many sons and daughters, some all grown up now, are starved for their parent's blessing. Without it, they can make a lot of mistakes looking in all the wrong places for what only Mom and Dad can give them.
In a number of places in the Bible, we see examples of parents giving their children this great gift. In Genesis 49:28, for example, our word for today from the Word of God, it speaks of Jacob and his sons: "This is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him." That should be going on in every family, with every mother and father, every daughter and son. Hebrews 12:17 tells us about a son who missed his father's blessing—Esau. It says that his whole life "he sought the blessing with tears."
When you feel like you've never really gotten your mom or dad's blessing, it leaves this gaping hole inside. If you never got it from your parents, you know how it feels. Don't pass on that deficit; don’t pass on that hurt to any child of yours, any grandchild of yours. What happens when a person has this blessing deficit? Sometimes they give up on trying to please Mom or Dad and they just go entirely the other direction so nothing is expected of them. Some will become rebels because they never were good enough for the most important people in their life. Others may just turn hard to cover up the hurt and look like they don't care. And some drive themselves mercilessly, even after their parent is gone, trying to please anyone who may give them that blessing that a parent failed to give. But it will never be enough.
We bless our son or daughter when we tell them what we like about them, what's good about them. When we compliment them on even small progress or achievements. When we point out to them, not only their positive abilities, but their positive qualities. Those are things that you don't get awards or grades for, but they're the things that really matter—being generous, being unselfish, being a good listener, having good radar for people's feelings, being a leader, being organized, being a problem-solver.
Praise what's good, and praise it regularly and specifically. Water what you want to grow, and learn to swallow what's negative and critical and shame-producing. In the Bible's words, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building others up, according to their needs" (Ephesians 4:29). Don't focus on the problems and the areas that need improving. You have such incredible power to make your son or daughter feel either very big or very small; very secure or very insecure; very valuable or very worthless. It's all wrapped up in "giving each the blessing appropriate to him" or her.
And let your son or daughter know that there is a Father whose love does not ever have to be earned. In fact, it can't be earned. God is that Father whose unconditional love sent His Son to a cross for us; thus making possible for each of us one love, one blessing, and one safe relationship that we can always count on. We parents pride ourselves on providing for our children all the things they need. There are few things they need more than your blessing. Please, don't fail them.
